By Ryan Chell, Sports Editor
Coach Davey Blake and the Terror men finished third at the Messiah Invitational on November 3, which opened the season for the wrestlers. They scored 64 points, and had four wrestlers finish in the Top Five in their groups. The team as a whole finished only behind powerhouses Messiah and Johns Hopkins.
Several Green Terror did very well in the event, especially junior Andrew Winfield, who went 3-0 in his class. He also recorded a pin to seal a match. Winfield, who even earned a bye in his match, defeated Waynesburg’s Jason King 10-1, he pinned BJ Greenman of Case Western Reserve, and in the championship match, he shut out Messiah’s David Jones, 5-0.
Junior Ferris Bond, seeded second in the 197lb weight class, fought his way to the championship round, beating Messiah’s wrestler, but eventually fell to Hopkins top-seeded wrestler, Tyler Schmidt. It is very disappointing to go that far and not come out on top, but Bond proved that he will be close to the end results of matches all season long.
And in the heavyweight bracket, freshman Brock Glotfelty fought through two rounds, winning one in a commanding 18-4 fashion, before earning a shot at the semifinals.
His effort came up short though, as he lost to top-seeded Matt Williams of Messiah, who again showed their dominance on the mat. It will be interesting to see how these wrestlers, like Glotfelty, do against just their Centennial Conference rivals as the season progresses.
Other wrestlers who faired well in the tournament were Zach Hetrick in the 165lb bracket, who took revenge for Glotfelty’s loss by pinning Messiah’s Trey Speers to earn himself a third-place prize.
Tim Hall, of the 133lb bracket, earned his way back to fourth place. He had been pinned by Case Western Reserve wrestler Garrett Rini, but overcame his defeat by fighting hard and gaining a pin of his own against Waynesburg’s Josh Boyle in just about a minute’s time.
Overall, Coach Blake has prepared his team well for the upcoming season ahead.
They have a reason to keep their heads high, their potential seems to go nowhere but up, and they will have to prove that on the 7 of November against York before entering the Navy Classic Tournament which takes place on November 17 in our state capital.